Magnetic devices were first used in Europe to condition water in the early 1950s after being discovered by a Belgian scientist in 1947. Ventures to sell such devices in the United States initially were not successful in part since the magnets used were of low grade and the claims made by producers regarding the effects of magnetic devices were overstated. The result was bad publicity and considerable skepticism. Since that time, considerable scientific research, engineering research, and anecdotal usage data has concentrated on the effects of magnetism on water and water solutions.
Magnetic Fluid treatment has been shown to suppress the undesirable effects of "scale" and "hard water". While the exact mechanism for this effect is unknown, it is known that CACO.sub.3 is the hard tenacious scale (calcite) that forms on most piping systems and especially in systems in which water is heated or evaporated. The scale clogs the passages, reduces heat transfer into the water, and reduces the efficiency of the system. It is also the major contributor to the household phenomenon known as "hard water". Scale itself is not known to be directly affected by a magnetic field.
Some scientific laboratory experiments, which measure CaCO.sub.3 deposits and deposition rates, have confirmed that magnetic fields have an affect under the laboratory conditions. These experiments have established a reduction in CaCO.sub.3 deposits. The presence of non-calcium ions in water, especially those of iron or magnesium, affects scaling rates and properties. The formation of calcite is inversely related to the heating rate and the temperature with aragonite (soft CACO.sub.3) being more likely to form at high temperatures and heating rates. Magnetism can affect some of the physical properties of water through deaggregation, corrosion rates of some materials in contact with water, and some of the properties of materials in water solutions, especially iron ions.
Many changes to the treatment of water can result in temporary scale reduction but may result in a long term increase in the scaling rate. Most of the successful procedures used for reducing the effects of scale are expensive, technical, and may increase the overall rate of corrosion of the system.
Engineering studies made around the world have shown decreases in scaling and increases in plant efficiency as a result of the use of magnetic devices (generally in connection with procedural changes to eliminate the additional sludge formed).
Engineering studies that show positive results commonly find that: a) the effectiveness of magnetic treatment decreases as the temperature at which the scale forms is reduced; b) a greater percentage of aragonite in scale is formed from magnetically exposed water; and c) the scale which forms after exposure to magnetism is softer and easier to remove.
Literally hundreds of industrial, commercial, private and public service providers in the United States have used and profited from magnetic water treatment. Despite their inability to scientifically explain the phenomenon, authors publishing for the American Chemical Society even classify it as a "scale control technique" and identify several manufacturers of devices useful for such treatment. Popular Mechanics in June 1992 reports on many successful applications of magnetic water treatment devices in both commercial and industrial settings. Many of the users to which they allude are very small businesses, not much larger than single home situations.
Presently, scientists dispute the details of the effects of magnetic devices on water and water impurities, but acknowledge that the phenomenon exists and that it merits further study. A model for understanding the phenomena is based on recognizing that magnetic fields impose forces on moving electric charges (ions in the water) and magnetic dipoles (molecular sized magnets). Forces acting on any matter can change its energy state. Water molecules have magnetic moments and are temporarily affected by passing through a magnetic field. This molecular change will relax over time. Most users of magnetic water conditioning devices are more concerned with the effect of the magnetic field of the device on ions. The forces caused by the magnet can provide the activation energy needed by the ions to form new molecular structures and break some other structures. The new structures essentially suspend the impurities in the water in a way that reduces their tendency to precipitate out of solution to form scale on pipes and in devices such as heaters or boiler tubes.
Clearly, the types of impurities in the water are going to affect the type response a system has to exposure to a magnetic device. Because one can not predict what impurities exist in a specific water system, one can not predict the exact results of putting the magnetic water conditioning devices on that system.
However if a system has suffered from build up of scale, installation of the magnetic devices probably will result in a significant reduction in new scaling and generally a removal of the old scale. Scale reduces heat transfer and therefore raises energy costs and often causes premature heating element failure. To keep scale from accumulating, many operators use chemicals. In such systems, the use of magnetic water conditioning can result in a reduction in the amount of chemical used.
Many engineers have used magnetic water treatment successfully to reduce scaling, improve efficiency, and prolong equipment life. A broad range of conditions seems susceptible to successful application of magnetic water treatment devices. Use in processes similar to those which were successful is likely to produce equivalent results and use in systems that are only marginally different from the known successes is a low risk venture.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Applicant is aware of the following U.S. Pat. Nos. concerning magnetic water treatment. U.S. Pat. No. Issue Date Inventor Title 2,652,925 09-22-1953 Vermeiren MAGNETIC TREATMENT DEVICE FOR LIQUIDS 4,265,754 05-05-1981 Menold WATER TREATING APPARATUS AND METHODS 4,265,755 05-05-1981 Zimmerman MAGNETIC FLUID TREATING UNIT 4,265,756 05-05-1981 Schiesser CHANGE DEVICE FOR SIEVES FOR FILTERING PLASTIC MATERIALS 4,711,271 12-08-1987 Weisenbarger MAGNETIC FLUID CONDITIONER 4,836,932 06-06-1989 Walsh WATER TREATMENT USING FINE PARTICLE SUPER MAGNETS 5,113,751 05-19-1992 Holcomb BEVERAGE BREWING SYSTEM 5,200,071 04-06-1993 Spiegel TRANSLATING MAGNETIC FIELD TREATMENT DEVICE 5,227,683 07-13-1993 Clair MAGNET ASSEMBLY WITH CONCENTRATOR FOR PROVIDING FLUX LINES PERPENDICULAR TO FLUID FLOW DIRECTION WITHIN STEEL PIPE 5,238,558 08-24-1993 Curtis MAGNETO- HYDRODYNAMIC FLUID TREATMENT SYSTEM 5,296,141 03-22-1994 Ellison MAGNETIC WATER CONDITIONER 5,378,362 01-03-1995 Schoepe APPARATUS FOR MAGNETICALLY TREATING WATER PAPERS Title Author MAGNETIC WATER TREATMENT Merle Henkenius EFFECTIVENESS OF MAGNETIC WATER David Hasson and TREATMENT IN SUPPRESSING CaCO.sub.3 Dan Bramson SCALE DEPOSITION
Vermeiren U.S. Pat. No. 2,652,925 teaches a treatment device which produces a magnetic field and a passage for the liquid to be treated.
Menold U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,754 provides an apparatus for treating fresh water by producing a magnetic field in proximity to a flow of water within a water conduit.
Zimmerman U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,755 provides a magnetic water treating device within a conduit. This device provides easy assembly without adversely affecting the ultimate functional capability of the overall unit.
Schiesser U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,756 provides a change device for sieves used for filtering plastic materials. The sieves can be changed with this device without interrupting the transport of the material which is being processed.
Weisenbarger U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,271 provides a magnetic fluid conditioner for abating the adherence of precipitates in conduits transmitting a variety of fluids which contain unwanted compounds which will precipitate and adhere to the inner walls of the conduits.
Walsh U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,932 provides a method for the fabrication and use in modifying the physicochemical properties of water. This device uses fine particle super ferromagnets or super paramagnets dispersed in nonmagnetic media.
Holcomb U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,751 provides water treatment by using magnetic treatment or electromagnetic treatment by direct injection in the fluid stream or a combination of such water treatment systems. Note Column 3, lines 33-48, regarding the magnet orientations.
Spiegel U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,071 provides a fluid treatment system for changing the rates of growth of certain crystals formed within a fluid. This device has a variable speed motor and a wheel assembly mounted on the shaft. An array of magnets is concentrically arranged in a circular pattern about the shaft on the inner surface of each of the disks wherein sufficient magnetic force is provided to accomplish beneficial effects on impurities of the fluid.
Clair U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,683 provides a permanent magnet fluid generator with powerful magnetic field condensers which utilize neodymium magnets to magnetically saturate steel pole pieces. In this device, the fluid generates an electrical current that can be utilized to protect the pipe from scale and corrosion.
Curtis U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,558 teaches a magneto-hydrodynamic system and method for the treatment of pipes and the fluid carried in the pipes to prevent scaling and build-up of deposits. In this device, a pipe for carrying fluid and four magnets are utilized, with each magnet having a magnetic field density of about 6,700 gauss, end pole pieces on each end of the magnet units and a top pole piece covering the surface of the magnets on a side of the magnets opposite the side in contact with the pipe to be treated.
Ellison U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,141 provides a magnetic device for treating fluid flowing through a conduit. Permanent magnets are utilized and a mass of non-ferromagnetic filler material in the interior compartment encapsulates the magnets.
Schoepe U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,362 provides a system for treating water to reduce calcium carbonate deposits. Pairs of magnets are utilized to facilitate changing of the spacing between adjacent magnets.
The Merle Henkenius article entitled "MAGNETIC WATER TREATMENT" and the David Hasson and Dan Bramson article entitled "EFFECTIVENESS OF MAGNETIC WATER TREATMENT IN SUPPRESSING CaCO.sub.3 SCALE DEPOSITION" discuss the current technology of magnetic water treatment.